Perfect Cup of Coffee

I use 12 cups of water, 6 Tablespoons Maxwell House Dark Roast, and have my coffee maker set to strong brew. No sweetner, 2% milk.

depends on how you like it.
If you like it weaker, you need a larger grind of bean. Stronger, finer grind.
I also add a pinch of salt to the ground coffee it takes the bitter edge off of it.
My latest creamer obsession is Southern Butter Pecan. I don't use sweetener I just use enough flavored creamer to sweeten it.

our coffee maker came with a little scooper.. i use one scoop per 2 cups of coffee (usually stop n shop breakfast blend or whatever was on sale -usually a breakfast beldn) and then i throw in a scoop or two of espresso depeding how many cups im making... then just a little bit of 2%milk and 2 tsp sugar.. my mom buys those coffeemate flavored creamers, she loves em im not such a big fan

Hi KA-

As I type this, I am having my morning coffee fix.

I use one TBS per cup of water.

Sometimes I sprinkle a little cinnamon and salt on the grounds before brewing.

I use half and half - it is better for me...and cheaper than the fake creamers as well.

Happy coffee! ***holding my mug up in your general direction***

Michele/cat

I agree with Hazel about cleaning your coffee machine. It's really important to keep it clean for the coffee to keep tasting good.

Personally, the best tasting coffee is with my French press. Since having my first mug with one I haven't gone back to enjoying anything else nearly as much. It's easy to clean and store because you can buy small ones or larger ones. Mine is either 32 or 36 ounces, so big enough for nearly 3 huge mugs of coffee.

I also grind my own beans since the grounds that you use with a French press have to coarse-ground.

If you ever get one, PM me and I'll give you directions on how to use it. :-)

Some things to consider:

Make sure your machine is clean. Sludgy machines and dirty presses can make coffee taste just wrong.

Make sure the water is as cold as can be, fresh from the tap. Run the tap for a few minutes if necessary; if you need to filter it first (Britta/Pur), do so and then get the water into the machine/kettle ASAP. Leaving water in the machine overnight lowers the oxygen content of the water, thus getting you a poorer extraction than freshly-drawn water.

Grind your own beans. Use a burr grinder if possible. If not, have it ground for you and then...
Buy only what you can use in a week. Nothing tastes as good from the freezer as it does fresh, and this includes beans.

Buy your beans from a coffee shop. Talk to the person behind the counter. What sort of acid/balance do the different coffees have? If you are using a decaf, consider getting a water-processed one. A bit more expensive, but far superior in taste quality.

Either make as much coffee as you plan on drinking in the next hour, or make more and put it in a thermos carafe. Don't let it just sit on the burner for hours.

Me, personally, I'm a big fan on the french press. (I worked at cafes back in the day, before everyone knew what a latte was.) I like a thick, rich brew. I'm also very high-ritual with my coffee or tea, which means that I scald the pot first before putting my ground beans in, and I follow the directions to a tee, such as bringing the water to a boil and then letting it sit for a bit for coffee instead of pouring boiling hot water over the grounds. Using water which is overboiled will mean less oxygen; too hot means diminished quality of taste.

I use unrefined, organic sugar, two teaspoons, and some unsweetened soy milk. (Would use half-n-half, but lactose intolerant.)

And yes, I'm extremely precise about all of this stuff. To me, it's a discipline. :)

We like dark roast coffee, and we make it like the "instructions" on the bag say practically. Most people don't put enough actual coffee into their coffee.

We buy whole beans. Sometimes Starbucks, sometimes Caribou, sometimes a smaller company called Jittery Joe's.

Coffee pots are generally marked by servings, but a serving is considered like 6 oz, not the average american mug size (10 oz or so?). So, if you are having 4 cups of coffee (you and hubby, 2 each, which is how we normally do it) we fill the tank with 8 "cups" (the mark lines) and I use approximately 8 scoops of ground coffee (or whole beans if you have a pot with a grinder). Hubby likes about a half to one whole scoop MORE, and I like about a half scoop less. Play around until you find what you like.

As you add more water (if we have company and use the full 12 cup measurement) you don't need to add quite as much coffee. I usually will cut it to one less scoop than the tank measures. So for 12 "cups", I'd add 11 scoops of coffee. And this is all using an actual coffee scoop, not eyeballing it or using a teaspoon. I believe that a coffee scoop holds a tablespoon, but I am not positive on that.

Anyway, we don't use flavored stuff or sugar in our coffee. We only add regular half and half. I like a little more of it, husband likes a little less. Mine looks like a dark tan, his looks golden.

If your coffee pot is old, it may need to be cleaned, if you haven't done that lately. It can affect taste. Most machines say run a vinegar/water solution through and rinse. Or they sell "cleaner" for them. And if it is not a high quality machine, it may not heat the water to a high enough temperature to get a really good taste either. Temperature matters when brewing coffee.
Hope that helps.

At home, I make my coffee medium strength and drink it black. I think the recommendations for home coffee brewing make the coffee way too strong. You might just need to add or subtract the amount of coffee in your filter.

"What kind of creamer is best? What sweetener?"

Real milk or cream, real sugar. Avoid the chemical stuff. If you like flavors, try Torani syrups.

i like my coffee on the strong side, so put in one heaping tablespoon of dark roast for each 2 cups of coffee, ie on weekends when dh and i are both having coffee, i make 10 cups and put in 5-6 tablespoons of coffee.
my SIL prefers her coffee very weak, so i cut that back by 1/3 to 1/2 if she's here.
if you're feeling fancy, you can always add a cinnamon stick, or a shake of black pepper, or a vanilla bean to the filter.
i don't like fake food, so suck it up and put real half and half and real sugar in my coffee. of course, this is lots of not-good so i keep coffee to an occasional treat. but i'd rather go without than have it any way other than strong, sweet and creamy. my dh, on the other hand, has finally worn down my pleas to abstain from fake stuff, and honestly prefers splenda and powdered creamer, so i shut up and just make sure that his meals are prepared from whole, fresh, healthy ingredients and hope to counter-balance it all. he drinks coffee every day so he's getting a lot of chemicals.
i wish i could fall in love with stevia but i just can't. i grow it in my herb garden and love it in salads, but just can't do the processed stuff in coffee. blegh.
khairete
S.

I use Starbucks Breakfast Blend with 1/2 & 1/2 and raw sugar. I have the Starbucks coffee ground at the store (Kroger or Starbucks, wherever I am at the time I need coffee). Coffeemate liquid creamer is actually the creamiest but it isn't 'real' anything, all chemicals, so I won't buy it. It took a long time for me to find the perfect mix. Good luck in finding yours!

I use those scoopers that come in formula. Two of those is exactly how I like my coffee, mine is on the weaker side though.

As for creamer and stuff, I change it up all of the time. Flavored, regular, milk: it all depends on my mood.

I can't tell you how to brew the perfect cup (my husband takes care of that, and it's awesome), but I don't use creamer. I use whipped cream instead. I sweeten with a little sugar first and then pile on the whipped cream. I don't like creamer/milk for these reasons:

1. They mix with the coffee and compromise the flavor.
2. Refrigerated creamers cool the coffee.

Whipped cream blends slowly and allows the coffee to stay hot and keep its flavor.

We love Sumatra coffee beans.
We only grind the amount of coffee we will be using that day with our little electric grinder.

We use a Krups coffee maker with the gold filter (not paper) or we use our espresso maker to make cappuccinos.

The moms are correct. That little scoop that came with the coffee maker is for every 2 cups of fresh water.

I do not care for flavored coffees, I like just good pure coffee, with a little cream or milk or frothed milk..

Enjoy!

I like the Bailey's creamers, the best flavors are Creme Brulee and Brown Butter pecan. But I only put a splash and the some 1 or 2 % milk, otherwise it is just too sweet. I prefer the more expensive coffees, Folgers is just not going to cut it and we like a medium to dark roast. Experiment with how strong you like your coffee, that is really personal preference.

I like the percolator the best. The french press is just not hot enough coffee. My husband, who likes his coffee black likes that the FP is not hot. I also heat my milk in the microwave before adding the coffee, otherwise it cools it and it is not fresh tasting.

I put about 1 tablespoon per measuring cup of coffee, but some people tell me it's strong. I don't use any specific brand, just what's on sale - I can't tell the difference. But I need it strong because, to my own cup, I add regular sugar (about a teaspoon or more depending on my mug size) and almost a quarter cup of creamer.

I like the Nestle Coffee Mate liquid creamers. They come in all kinds of yummy flavors.

UTA - Beth, I've never seen a Southern Butter Pecan creamer, where do you get that?? Sounds yummmy!

French Press.
I like my coffee strong.
I put 3 generous scoops per cup.

French Press coffee is good.
No filters to buy.

I drink my coffee straight.

I like mine with organic milk and no sugar. For the flavor I add cinnamon or several drops of vanilla extract.